One after another
After Xu Ru successfully completed her baptism, the others couldn't wait to join in.
Among the powerful figures standing on the river, several top geniuses who were riding on Bai Long and Azure Dragon Token moved one after another.
The first to make a move was a young man dressed in dark gold. The Azure Dragon Token under his feet suddenly trembled, and the Azure Dragon phantom on the surface of the light shield emitted a deep dragon roar. Then, one after another, the Heavenly River Spirit gushed out from his token.
The orbs of light, about the size of an infant's fist, hovered and gathered above the river like a swarm of fireflies released from a cage.
A woman dressed in a moon-white robe not far from him also made her move at the same time.
Then came the third, the fourth, and the fifth, who released their accumulated Heavenly River Spirit one after another, instantly filling the sky above the river with orbs of light.
The number of Heavenly River Spirit flying out from the tokens beneath their feet varied, with some having as many as ninety and others having as few as seventy.
Even though this number is less than Xu Ru's eighty, it still surpasses Qin Jingzhe's sixty-three, which is quite a good level.
The onlookers on the river looked up at the orbs of light. Some silently counted them, and when they reached more than seventy, they couldn't help but gasp. When they reached more than ninety, all they could do was smile bitterly.
A cultivator at the Middle Stage Tier 9 Supreme, standing on the periphery, gazed at the orbs of light. His lips moved slightly, and he turned to his companion beside him, whispering, "I toiled for two days and two nights to gather only eighteen, while they casually released over ninety. The difference is..."
He shook his head halfway through his sentence; he didn't finish, but the meaning was crystal clear.
While these people were undergoing their baptism, someone with the Golden Dragon Token finally made their move.
The owners of those Golden Dragon Token mostly came from the top forces on the Sky Luo Continent. Some were direct descendants of reclusive Ancient Clan, some were chief disciples of super sects, and some didn't even bother to compete for the Young Powerhouses Ranking, yet their strength was in no way inferior to the top figures on the list.
They stood on their respective token boats, the Golden Dragon Token beneath their feet forming a thick, solid protective barrier like a city wall. The Dragon Pattern on the boats shimmered with a heavy golden light in the river, making them appear as if a group of true dragon descendants were swimming in the water.
Most of those people had calm and composed expressions, which contrasted sharply with Human Form around them who were fighting tooth and nail for a few dozen Crystal Stone. They were like a group of nobles strolling in their own backyard, watching the beggars outside the courtyard wall fighting over a single copper coin.
In an instant, almost every eyeball on the Heavenly River seemed to bulge out. The Golden Dragon Token burst forth with dazzling brilliance, its golden light so intense that it resembled countless miniature suns exploding simultaneously on the river's surface, turning the entire expanse of water into a blinding gold.
The golden light burst forth from the token, dyeing the mist on the river surface golden, and even the water in the deep waters in the distance shimmered with a golden luster under the reflection of the light.
Immediately afterwards, countless Heavenly River Spirit roared out, swirling around them like stars.
Each of them emanated a pure and powerful Spiritual Energy, like stars shrunk countless times and slowly rotating on the river surface.
The orbs of light swirled and circled around them, like Star Domain illuminated by their respective masters, each a few feet apart, neither encroaching on the other yet reflecting each other's brilliance.
And the number was a staggering ninety-nine! Ninety-nine Heavenly River Spirit —that was the pinnacle of High-Tier Baptism.
A clamor erupted across the Heavenly River. All the powerful figures present were filled with extreme envy. Some stared wide-eyed, others clenched their fists so tightly their nails dug into their palms, while still others simply turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight any longer.
A Rogue Cultivator from the Southern Region gazed at the orbs of light, his Adam's apple bobbing as he muttered under his breath, "I'd be incredibly lucky to have thirty of them, but these people have ninety-nine and still complain..."
A disciple from a Western Region sect nearby chimed in with a wry smile, "What's the point of comparing yourself to me? Go compare yourself to them. That's what you call being neither the best nor the worst—oh wait, we're the worst, they're the best, there's a whole world between us."
Ninety-nine Heavenly River Spirit —this is almost enough to trigger the most powerful High-Tier Baptism.
Compared to the eighty stones Xu Ru just possessed, this was a whole level higher. The difference was like a chasm, making those who had been marveling at the seventy or eighty stones understand what it meant to be outmatched.
Thus, the commotion was truly earth-shattering. The Heavenly River beneath their feet was thousands of feet in diameter, extending downwards from the river surface to an unknown depth, like the bottomless maw of a giant beast, stirring all the water of the Heavenly River towards its center.
The river water spun rapidly in the whirlpool, and water vapor rose from the edge of the whirlpool, like a Sea of Clouds that had been boiled over.
The whirlpool was several times larger Xu Ru the thousand-foot whirlpool that Xu Ru had created before. Huge ripples were stirred up on the river surface, and even those who were still fighting with the Heavenly River Spirit in the distance had to stop and steady their small boats.
A vast expanse of light emanated from above them, rising from the vortex and converging in the sky to form a huge lake.
The lake was about several thousand feet in circumference, suspended under the sky like a celestial lake created out of thin air. The lake water had a warm and smooth appearance, with fine Spiritual Runes slowly flowing on the surface, like a piece of silk ruffled by the wind.
A burst of spiritual light erupted from the lake, and the pure Spiritual Energy was so thick that it seemed almost viscous, like a pot of soup that had been simmered to its fullest extent. Even the air was soaked with that Spiritual Energy, making it moist and heavy.
The radiance surged and transformed into Spiritual Energy light bridges in the lake. These light bridges rose from the lake surface and spanned the void, like rainbows connecting the sky and the river, a truly mysterious sight.
Many powerful figures stared in disbelief at the enormous lake. Compared to it, even Xu Ru's river seemed much smaller.
The Xu Ru River was only a few dozen feet wide and a hundred feet long, while the lake in front of us was several thousand feet in circumference, and its size was more than dozens of times that of the river.
Those standing on the river looked up at the giant lake suspended under the sky, their faces displaying an almost reverent expression.
Someone murmured, "Is this the ultimate level of High-Tier Baptism? It's incredibly powerful!"
Countless powerful individuals looked on with envy; if they could withstand such a baptism, the improvement it would bring them would be unparalleled.
The concentration of Spiritual Energy contained in those light bridges was so high that it was visible to the naked eye. Each light bridge was like a spiritual pillar compressed to its limit, and the Spiritual Energy flowing within it was several times purer than the water of the Heavenly River.
A middle-aged cultivator at the Early Stage Tier 9 Supreme gazed at the lake, couldn't help but swallow hard, and said to the person beside him, "If I could soak in that lake, I'm afraid I could directly touch the threshold of the Tier 9 Peak."
The man next to him scoffed, "You want to take a dip? You can't even climb the light bridge by the lake. The Spiritual Energy concentration there is too high; your meridians would burst if you went in."
However much they coveted it, they clearly didn't dare to touch it in the slightest when faced with these ruthless individuals who possessed the Golden Dragon Token.
The owners of those Golden Dragon Tokens all possessed an aura as deep and unfathomable as a deep abyss, like several tigers lurking among a flock of sheep. Anyone who dared to try and snatch their things would be courting death.
Buzzing. As the many powerful figures marveled at the amount of Heavenly River Spirit obtained by the holders of the Golden Dragon Token, the Heavenly River beneath their feet once again formed an enormous vortex.
A beam of light shot into the sky, and ethereal clouds gathered there, shimmering with light, before finally taking shape.
The owners of those Golden Dragon Token sat cross-legged on the bridge of light, letting the pure Spiritual Energy in the lake wash over their Supreme Dharma Body.
One after another, those Dharma Body lit up. Some were entirely crimson like fire, some were entirely silvery white like snow, some were entirely dark green like a forest, and some were entirely golden like copper. Each one exuded a pressure far exceeding that of an ordinary Tier 9 Peak being.
Under the influence of Spiritual Energy, those Dharma Body rapidly solidified, grew stronger, and transformed. The patterns on their surfaces became clearer, the seams of their armor became tighter, and even the light in Dharma Body eyes changed from blurry to sharp as a knife.
A young man dressed in a crimson robe sat cross-legged on the bridge of light. His Supreme Dharma Body was a giant engulfed in flames. When Spiritual Energy was poured onto the Dharma Body, it was like a bucket of cold water being poured into boiling oil, causing a burst of white mist. However, the Dharma Body was not extinguished; instead, it became more condensed in the mist, and the flames changed from crimson to an almost incandescent color.
Those people's physical bodies were also undergoing a cleansing and rejuvenation process under the influence of Spiritual Energy. A layer of colorful fluorescence rose on the surface of their skin, and their aura rose segment by segment, like a group of bamboo shoots growing in the spring rain.
As these people entered the baptismal chamber, some others asked with a hint of confusion, "But why do they all only have ninety-nine Heavenly River Spirit?"
There was a hint of confusion in the voice. After all, with these people's strength, if they could obtain ninety-nine Heavenly River Spirit, they shouldn't be short of just one.
Their methods, their resources, and their character are far beyond what ordinary people can match. Since they were able to collect ninety-nine, it means they are fully capable of making another attempt to collect a hundred.
Given their pride, they should have gone to great lengths to seize the last Heavenly River Spirit in hopes of obtaining a perfect Heavenly River Baptism.
Although there is only one difference between ninety-nine and one hundred, that one is the dividing line between high-level and perfect, and the gap between them is like Natural Chasm.
These people are all proud and arrogant; how could they be content to stop here?
A young cultivator standing on the outskirts scratched his head and muttered, "If I could collect ninety-nine, I'd risk my life to find just one more. It's just one more. Would you be willing to trade that one for the other?"
"It seems that a perfect-level baptism cannot be obtained through ordinary methods." After a moment of thought, many powerful figures realized this.
Only this reason can explain why their number of Heavenly River Spirit is limited to ninety-nine. It's not that the owners of those Golden Dragon Token didn't want to collect a hundred, but rather that the hundredth one simply couldn't be obtained through collection.